As we age, we change

I'm not running (or cycling) as fast as when I was 30 and while I haven't been able to measure the actual drop, I can guarantee you that I can feel it. Of course, I still can ski pretty fast or go down the hill like a bullet on my bike, but my aging cardiovascular system hasn't much to do with it.

This statement of fact brings me to the notion of VO2 max (that is also known as maximal oxygen consumption) and is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during incremental exercise, most typically on a motorized treadmill for those of you that have undergone a so-called “stress-test”.

I haven't yet, and have no intention of killing myself for stats that my doctor may not be able to analyze to my advantage. What I just need to do is take a peek at the table and see that “I'm not the man I used to be” as one of the Beatles songs laments. My performance is at least down some 40% and maybe more, and further I don't have the foggiest idea of how my VO2 max rate was when I was 30.

That's right, that weird VO2 max unit of measurement stands for the number of liters of oxygen per minute as it relates to the relative rate in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of my body mass. Just like your car carburator... But just thinking of that complex measurement is enough to bring me to my knees, so I'll have a beer instead!